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Meet the Engineering Development Team

Cathy Brown
Cathy Brown
Director of Relations
Phone 713-743-2804
Email cmbrow31 [at] central.uh.edu
Margarita Pérez Frinsco
Margarita Pérez Frinsco
Senior Director of Advancement
Phone 713-743-2234
Email mperez47 [at] central.uh.edu
Margarita currently serves as the Senior Director of Advancement for the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering. She has nearly 15 years of experience within philanthropy serving across organizations ranging from corporate, nonprofit and most recently higher education. Margarita works to build institutional resources to help advance the philanthropic goals of alumni, industry partners and other community organizations. Most recently, she led the philanthropic efforts of the College of Technology during the immensely successful UH-System $1 billion “Here We Go” campaign.

Margarita is a relationship-centered leader with a passion for transformational philanthropy. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of St. Thomas and earned her Master of Business Administration from the C. T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston in May 2021.

She is a proud Houstonian and resides in the Near Northside community with her wife, Jessica, son, Gedeón, gray tabby cat, Jules, and German Shepherd dog, Maxine. During her free time, she mentors first-generation STEM Latine college students and serves as the Vice-Chair of The Hollyfield Foundation.
Ninel Ibarra
Ninel Ibarra
Development Coordinator
Phone 713-743-7647
Email naibarr3 [at] central.uh.edu
Andrea Ward
Andrea Ward
Director of Advancement
Phone 713-743-7873
Email amward2 [at] central.uh.edu
Andrea joined the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering Advancement Team in May 2022 as a Director of Advancement. Before joining the engineering team, she led philanthropic efforts for four years at the university’s Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Services, supporting opportunities housed across the division's 29 university-wide departments.

Prior to working for the University of Houston, Andrea honed her fundraising skills at a variety of notable Houston institutions — including the Houston Grand Opera, Be The Match, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Before that, Andrea supported multiple fundraising campaigns for Houston area politicians.

Andrea is a proud alumnus of the University of Houston, who achieved her bachelor of arts degree in political science in 2008. She has always called the Southeast side of Houston home and now resides there with her husband, David, daughter, Cailin, and the luckiest black cat, Professor Paw-Paw. Andrea serves on the BARC Foundation Board and can always be found at UH sporting events.
Lili Cavazos
Lili Cavazos
Assistant Director of Advancement
Phone 713-882-7434
Email lcavazos1 [at] uh.edu